MS-13

MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, is a powerful, multinational gang that was formed in the 1980s by immigrants to the United States from El Salvador. The Salvadorans controlled crime in Salvadoran prisons, and they became one of the largest gangs in North America, having 70,000 members. The gang was founded in Los Angeles with the goal of protecting Salvadoran immigrants from hostile Mexican immigrants, but the gang soon began to take over Mexican turf and become a more powerful organization.